Medical Questions » Alcohol Questions » Question No. 15
| Question: | My father consumes two casks of wine a week. Can you tell me what harm this will cause him? Are there any additives or preservatives that can cause harm? |
| Answer: | There are additives and preservatives in cask wine, but their effect would be absolutely minimal in comparison to the effect of the alcohol being consumed. Casks come in different sizes, but assuming you are referring to the standard four litre cask, your father is consuming more than 60 standard alcoholic drinks a week. A standard drink is 15 mL of spirits, 30 mL of sherry or port, 125 mL of wine or 250 mL of standard strength beer.
An alcoholic is someone who has three or more of the following habits:
- consumes more than six standard drinks a day,
- drinks alone,
- tries to hide drinking habits from others,
- disrupts work or social life because of alcohol,
- craves alcohol when none is available,
- appears to tolerate the effects of alcohol well,
- binges on alcohol,
- has abnormal liver function.
Your father is an alcoholic, and this will be causing his liver, brain, heart and other organs significant damage.
Treating an alcoholic is extraordinarily difficult, as most will not accept the diagnosis. Unless they are a danger to themselves or society, treatment cannot be forced upon them, and even if it is forced, they do not respond as well as those who accept voluntary treatment.
In his few sober moments, try to gently persuade him to seek assistance. If he has a regular general practitioner, speak to him/her, so that the next time he visits the doctor, s/he can also reinforce the message. |
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